Genetic information is very important for many reasons including understanding life processes in biological systems, production and function of enzymes, hormones and neurotransmitters secretion and control of cellular functions. Furthermore, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and other macromolecules can provide a wealth of information for disease diagnosis and prevention, forensic analysis and security through identification of individuals. DNA may also serve as a target for disease treatment.
However, methods for obtaining and extracting DNA are invasive, costly, laborious and time consuming. Typically, blood samples are obtained and shipped to laboratories for analysis. Drawing blood or obtaining material from other invasive sources such as tissue samples requires a licensed physician or nurse, or a trained technician. Moreover, there is discomfort associated with blood and other invasive means of collection as well as risk of disease transmission. Furthermore, blood and tissue samples are often not available from crime scenes for forensic analysis.
Current methods for collection and extraction of DNA involve many steps. Apart from being expensive and time consuming, each additional step may increase the risk of contamination, which can contribute to a degradation of the sample and therefore result in a loss of information.
DNA recovery is not limited to blood cells but may be obtained from less invasive sources such as from skin cells. For example, skin cells in fingerprints constitute valuable material in forensic analysis. However, existing methods for performing DNA analysis from skin cells left on surfaces are, as mentioned above, time consuming and often do not provide a sufficient amount of material to enable a routine and reliable DNA extraction.
An improved method for collecting and extracting macromolecules such as DNA is therefore needed.